I walk Falen around the inside of the guild's private lot, my patience wearing thinner by the minute. Lyra and Myrese were supposed to meet me here almost a full hour ago, and now I'm getting worried that they've forgotten about my request.

After all, they haven't been online a lot in the past week. Real life must be getting in the way, but I can only assume, since I didn't actually ask the last time I saw them. The topic of real life is a mine field. We do not touch it, no complaining, not a mention of it at all. That is the unspoken rule of this guild.

So the last time I saw them, I was only able to ask them to meet her so I could introduce them to Trin.

Not…that I actually directly mentioned meeting Trin. Myrese likes the thought of keeping the guild small, and it took her ages to even accept Falen in. Lyra should have no problem with it, and between the two of us, we should be able to make Myrese cave in.

That is unless Trin doesn't do something stupid while she's waiting for us.

I sent her to wait in a tavern about five minutes away from our lot, but for all I know she got tired of waiting and started challenging players twenty levels higher than her. My anxiety grows as I walk Falen across the river that cuts through the middle of our property. I guide her across a bridge made of raw crystal formations, and plant her an inch in front of the gate.

A little flower in an ornate vase opens its petals up and starts serenading Falen with a high soft voice.

I groan low in my throat and look down at the screen, almost to the point of giving in to starting my homework while I wait. And after another six minutes tick by, I let out a heavy sigh and pull my history textbook onto my lap from my side table. I've just begun to skim the chapter assigned for tonight when I hear the telltale swoosh of a teleportation.

Myrese and Lyra show up almost simultaneously, and I find myself wondering how they always manage to time their coming and going so well. But I shove the thought aside along with my textbook and my hands are flying across the keyboard of my laptop.

There you are! I type quickly I was getting worried

Sorry 'bout that sweetie Lyra responds but I just got home, and I actually have some big news to share with you guys

I have something to say first! Myrese cuts in, somehow managing to sound completely different from her usual calm collected self through text

Come on! Lyra types back quickly I just had a life changing experience today and it affects the both of you

Well same here! Myrese responds Come on, just let me go first!

Will someone just say something already? I cut in I also have some news I wish to share, but I will wait my turn like a normal human being.

Fine Myrese responds. Lyra, you can go first

Ok, well…Lyra types out dramatically So I had a doctor's appointment today

And this qualifies as news how? Myrese cuts in.

Wait a minute would you? Lyra snaps through text I'm trying to build suspense here

Well you're doing great I reply, hoping she can sense my sarcasm.

Ok, ok, I get the message Lyra types So today I found out that I'm going to need to take some time off from the game, because I'm going to be a mom, and the doctor doesn't think it's a good idea for me to play games that give me anxiety

I freeze. Holy shit. Lyra is…Lyra is old enough to be a mom? I stare at her avatar, suddenly feeling so disillusioned by what I see. I expected her to be my age, or maybe just a few years older than me. Like…five at the most.

I can only hope that Myrese's lack of comment means that she's just as shocked as I am.

No way… she finally types My little girl is growing up…. ; A ;

Oh shut up Lyra responds there's not that much of an age gap between us. Ok that was me, so what about you Myrese?

Well… Myrese types I'm getting married so I'll be taking a break from the game as well

Air sticks in my throat.

NO WAY! THAT'S WHY HE ASKED ME WHAT YOUR FAVORITE GEMSTONE WAS? OHMAIGOOOOOOD OHMAIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD

And then the reality of the situation hits me. They know each other in real life. My only friends are adults, and now they're moving on with their lives. And I won't be a part of it. There's just no room for me at all.

Fallen?

Fallen?

Fallen?

Fallen honey what's up on your end?

I try to snap out of my funk and figure out something to say. My hands tremble as I punch the keys slowly.

Congratulations you guys :D

You won't be lonely without us will you dearie? Lyra types

I'll be fine, you guys just focus on your real lives right now.

Ok… Myrese replies So what did you want to tell us?

It's nothing I lie I forgot what I was going to say, so it must have not been important

Oh…ok then

Well I gotta get going Lyra types Gotta think of a good way to surprise daddy :D

I gotta go too Myrese types I gotta call my mom

Ok…I guess I'll see you guys around then

Bye!

Bye bye baby!

As I watch their avatars teleport away, all I can think about is how I'll never see them again. Who am I kidding? They'll never come back. They'll forget I exist in a few weeks and even if by some slim chance they end up signing on they won't bother looking me up.

I close my laptop and place it on my bedside table before burrowing under my covers. I just feel hallow now. I want to cry, or have some emotion take over so I know I can still feel things. But nothing comes, and I spend the rest of the night staring up at the ceiling without sleeping a wink.

XX

I walk into library three with my shoulders hunched and my hands stuffed deep in my blazer pockets. My focus has been out the window all day, and by now I'm wondering why I even got out of bed this morning, or why I haven't just made an excuse to go home by now.

As soon as I set one foot inside the door I can feel something is wrong, and I won't get to spend my lunch period in peace. And sure enough, that Yuki girl that I've been trying so hard to avoid since I got here, is perched on the stool behind the reception desk pounding away furiously on a small handheld game.

Shit…

I sigh heavily and pick up my pace, since unfortunately I need to cross in front of the desk to get to my little closed off area. But right as soon as I set one foot in front of the ancient but well-polished desk, Yuki's intense concentration breaks and her head snaps up.

"Heyyyyy, if it isn't Nao-chan!" she gushes as she waves me over frantically.

"Hey, Yuki…" I reply with a shallow dip of my head as I take the smallest of steps towards her. "Do you work in…all of the libraries?"

"You know it," she replies with a thumbs up and a wink behind her thick glasses.

"Oh…ok then…" I reply awkwardly as I shift my weight from foot to foot. "So, how come you're never in class?"

"Meh," she replies as she slumps over on the desk, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. "Who needs class? All I have to do is get good grades and the school leaves me be."

"Oh…so you're going to be a librarian when you graduate?"

"Meh or whatever," she says with a shrug of her shoulders.

And then she takes a giant hardcover book the size of the bible and sends it hurtling towards the doorway . I flinch as it flies straight past my face, grazing a few wisps of my hair. I clutch my chest with one hand and support myself against the edge of the desk with the other. I raise my head slowly to see Yuki giving a menacing smile to the people standing behind me.

"Heyyyy Hitachiin bros," she says in a sugary sweet voice as she leans over the desk.

"Don't you know any normal ways to say hello?" I gasp as I straighten up.

"It's ok Nao-chan," she says with a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's just that someone still hasn't returned The Theory of Plaid to the library yet! And it was due a week ago."

I glance over my shoulder, but if Hikaru and Kaoru were there at all, they aren't anymore. But a copy of Les Miserables is laying open on the floor, it's pages now all bent and crumpled. So much for her love of books.

"Why would you even check out a book to them?" I ask as I go fetch the book from the floor.

"I believe that everyone should have the wonderful opportunity to read and spread knowledge through the world no matter what that knowledge may be," Yuki says passionately. "However, when someone deprives others of that knowledge…that is crossing the line!"

I stand there, holding the book and staring at her self-righteous pose. I honestly try my best to keep a straight face, but I can feel the corners of my mouth twitching a mile a minutes. Laughter bubbles out of my throat and I almost collapse on the desk.

"I'm sorry," I gasp. "But that was golden. I think I'm in love."

"Indeed," Yuki replies indifferently as she examines her nails. "For this is the burden I must bear."

"Maybe you aren't as bad as I remember."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh it's nothing," I chuckle as I forget myself for a minute and grab both of her hands in mine. "Just forget about it."

"Don't get fresh with me pretty boy," Yuki mumbles as she swats my hands away, a slight blush rising high in her cheeks.

"Right," I reply, quickly snapping my hands back to my sides. "Sorry, I forgot for a minute."

"What exactly did you forget mister?" she asks sharply, her eyes narrowing behind her thick frames.

"You guys aren't as touchy feely here," I reply, averting my eyes from her.

"That so?" Yuki asks skeptically. "I don't think I ever told you what my parents do."

"Something about world methods of torture…" I offer up.

"You've heard of MI-5 yes?"

"No…?" I reply, beginning to feel more than slightly uncomfortable.

"The Security Service, commonly known as MI-5, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and Defense Intelligence. Also known as my mum."

"Uh…ok…congratulations?" I reply as I nervously shift from foot to foot. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It means I have skills," Yuki says menacingly as she leans over the desk towards me. "I know when someone is lying to me."

"Cool," I mumble as lean away from her. "Then maybe you should be an interrogation specialist. It would be a waste to be a librarian with those kinds of skills."

"Don't you try to change the subject on me buddy," she orders as she pokes the tip of my nose.

"Why do you feel the need to touch my face?" I sigh as I gently push her hand away from me.

"W-wha…n-no…I mean…" she stammers as color rises in her cheeks again. "That's not what…ehh…mmm…"

"Yes?" I goad, feeling a little bit smug.

"Y-you wanna fight me dingle berry?" she challenges as she raises her fists.

"Not particularly," I reply nonchalantly.

"…Lunch is almost over," she replies as she busies herself with taking a few books from the other side of the desk and scanning them in. "You should get back to class."

"OK, see you around," I say as turn to leave.

"Whatever macho man," she grumbles from behind me.

"Violent bookworm," I retaliate as I wave goodbye to her from over my shoulder.

XX

I get home later than usual since Tamaki called a staff meeting after club activities today. There was quiet literally no real reason, other than to give him a chance to try and impress Haruhi. Which ended up failing as usual.

At least the food was good.

I undo my tie as I walk through the entryway and pull the rubber band out of my hair. I walk up the stairs, fully prepared to sleep until dinner. Except for the fact that when I step inside my suite, what little things I've accumulated in specific places around the room in the past three weeks are gone.

I backtrack a few steps out the door again. Yeah…this is the right room.

Walking back in again, I'm willing to believe that housekeeping just went overboard. But as I look around, I'm beginning to notice small things that are definitely not supposed to be here. The lace boarder painted on the wall now has a secondary layer of pink lacework, and the boarders of the room have been painted the same shade of pale rose. The windows are open, airing out the faint smell of paint. I cross over to them and touch the new set of gold silk curtains.

This is so not a housekeeping thing.

I drop my bag down on the floor and walk over to the closet. I throw the doors open, and am greeted with a vacant space. Not even a hanger is left in there. I run across the room and verify that the same thing has happened in the bathroom. My bookshelves are empty. The extension are missing from my vanity drawer.

A wave of panic slides over me and I take off down the hall towards Akira and Shoko's room. I bang on the door, struggling to find out a way to talk around my panic.

Akira opens the door on the third bang, and steps aside to let me barrel through.

I'm just about to ask them what the hell is up with my room when I see Shoko sitting transfixed on the little loveseat they have in the middle of their suite. Her back is ridged, not even touching the back of the seat, and her eyes are glued unblinkingly at her laptop screen. It seems like she never even changed out of her pajamas this morning. The tension in her shoulders is visible and all Akira gives me is a look of distress when I turn to him for an explanation.

"Does this have anything to do with what happened to my room?" I eventually ask.

"I hate to reopen old wounds," Akira sighs as he walks over to Shoko and begins to kneed her shoulders. "But this seems to be the result of our rather awkward dinner two weeks ago."

"What do you mean?" I ask as I walk over to the both of them. "What does this have to do with my room?"

"It seems mom was embarrassed by your comments about how she treats Shoko, so she's given her a big opportunity."

"So this is good…?" I trial off.

Finally, Shoko looks up from the laptop, her eyes shining through her exhaustion. She offers me a huge smile, and sets the laptop down on the coffee table. Not really understanding what's going on, I just smile back at her.

"Thank you Nao," she gushes as she flings her arms around me. "I can't even begin to express how grateful I am."

"What did she do?" I ask as Shoko releases me.

"Your mom has been contracted by a newly debuted idol group," Shoko explains as she pulls me down on the couch next to her. "She's giving her assistants a member solely to themselves and she'll just make sure everything turns out according to the manager."

"So, you're not coffee girl anymore?"

"I've gotten my own idol," Shoko gushes. "That one there. Her name is Amade Yui."

I follow Shoko's finger and set eyes on a line-up of five girls around my age all cramped together on one talk show couch.

Yui is on the side farthest from the host, and she looks like the baby of the group. She looks nervous and shy, and I can't tell if it's my imagination or not, but it looks to me like she's trying to sit as far away from the rest of the group as the couch will allow. While the other girls are casually brushing sides and laying across each other to talk to the host, I can as a distinct gap between them and Yui, who isn't really getting any questions or answering anyone at all.

She just sits there with her long black hair spilling over her shoulder and into her lap. As I look closer I can see that it's been tinted to shine a pretty cranberry red in the stage lights. She has huge pink circle lenses on, but I'm guessing underneath them, her eyes are probably brown.

She looks like she doesn't want to be there at all, and spends most of the interview scuffing the soles of her wedges on the studio floor. I find myself almost feeling sorry for her, without really knowing why.

"And the thing is," Shoko continues, her voice suddenly serious. "They want us to be completely on the same wavelength as our idols. So it's part of the contract that she's going to be staying here with us."